Pyrophoric renewal for gas-lighters.



T. T. POMERDY.

PYROPHORIC RENEWAL FOR GAS LIGHTERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1, 1915.

1,212,156. Patented Jan.9,1917.

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THEODORE T. POMEROY, OF HAVERI-IILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 SAFETYGAS LIGHTER 60., OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHU-SETTS.

IYROPHORIC RENEWAL FOR GAS-LIGHTERS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THEODORE T. Poun- ROY, acitizen of the United States, residing at Haverhill, in the county ofEssex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inPyrophoric Renewals for Gas-Igniters, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention particularly relates to certain improvements in thespark-producing elements of pyrophoric gas-igniters, or to that part ofthe igniter which is moved in contact with the abrading member, and isadapted to be renewed.

In that class of igniters of the so-called tongs type, it has beencustomary to provideabrass nipple, one end of which is screw-threaded toreceive the end of one of the igniter arms, and has the pyrophoric alloyinserted in the opposite end thereof, so that a substantial portion ofsaid alloy projects beyond the end of the nipple. This means ofholdingthe alloy has various objections;'the alloy is brittle, andrelatively large chips are likely to be broken from theprojecting-portion when abraded to produce the sparks, so that the alloyis thus wasted. It also frequently happens that the alloy is not heldwith sufficient security and is dislodged from the nipple. Only theportion of the alloy which projects beyond the nip ple can be used, for,when the alloy becomes worn down to the end of the nipple, the latterprevents wear beyond this point, or prevents the alloy from beingabraded to a 'suflicient extent to produce a satisfactory quantity ofsparks. The result is that practically all of that portion of the alloy,which is inserted in the nipple, is not used, the loss frequently beingfully 25%. As the alloy is very expensive, as compared with othermetals, the waste which occurs through this method of holdingthe alloyamounts to a large sum, when the large number of these devices, whichare used, are considered.

A primary object of my invention is to provide means for holding thepyrophoric alloy in a gas-igniter of the type above referred to, so thatit will not be dislodged, chipped, or broken by the file, and so thatpractically all of the alloy may be used. In a general way, I accomplishthis object by providing a sleeve, in which the pyrophoric alloy may beinserted throughout its entire length, so that no portion thereof willpro- Specification of Letters IPatent.

Application filed June 1, 1915. Serial No. 31,341.

ject beyond the end of the sleeve, and by forming the sides of saidsleeve of a metal which may be cut away with a file more easily than thealloy, so that the file will not be prevented from having easy access tothe alloy;

I have ascertained, by experiment, that merely to employ, as an alloyholder, a metal which may be cut away with a file more easily or readilythan the alloy, will not necessarily accomplish the desired result, andthe metal used must, primarily, be of a frictional nature rather thananti-frictional. For exainple';-such metals as copper, lead, andaluminum, which are of anti-frictional nature,reducethe frictionalresistance of the file, when used in'the relation above referred to, sothat the heat generated is lessened, and the quantity or volume of thesparks produced is decreased, the sparking action being practicallydeadened. Such metals also tend to fill the teeth of the file, so thatits abrading action is greatly lessened. On the other hand, many metalswhich are of frictional nature are so hard that they may only be filedwith difficulty. That is, if iron, for example, were used in the abovedescribed relation, the'iron would not be filed away as readily as thealloy, and the formation of suitable sparks would be prevented, whilethe dulling effect on the file would also be great.

A more specific object of my invention, therefore, is to. provide a formof alloy holder with which the metal of the holder, besides resistingabrasion to practically no greater an extent than the alloy, will alsopossess strong frictional qualities, so that the amount of heatgenerated and the heat and igniting power of the sparks, and, at thesame time, the luminosity of the sparks, will also be increased, Iaccomplish this object by forming a containing cup for the pyrophoricalloy from a metal which not only may be abraded more easily or readilythan the alloy, and which has a much less dulling efiect on the filethan the alloy, but which is of such a character that, while theparticles thereof removed by the file will not become ignited by thefiling action alone, they will be ignited by the ignition of theparticles of alloy, so that the temperature, volume, and luminosity ofthe sparks emitted will be increased. The metal which, in so far as Ihave been able to discover, possesses all of the above characteristicsand capabilities, tothe most satisfactory degree, 1s magnesium.

For a more complete disclosure of my invention, reference is made to thefollowing specification in connection with the accompanying drawing, inwhich Figure 1 is a side elevation of an igniter of the tongs type. Fig.9 is bottom plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectionalview of the alloy holder. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in sectionof a renewal device, made accordingto my invention, and, Fig. .5 is aplan view thereof.

In the drawing a indicates a pyrophoric igniter of the well-known tongstype, one of the" arms of which bears a transversely disposed file b,and the other arm of which has an upturned end on which a sleeve 0 ismounted, said sleeve having a coupling-ring (Z threaded thereon.

According to my invention, I form a cylindrical cup 6 of the metalmagnesium, said cup being provided with an annular flange e at its base,and having cylindrical side walls, the external diameter of said wallsbeing slightly less than the internal diameter of the coupling-ring d,so that said cup may be readily inserted in the couplingring (Z, andclamped against the end of the sleeve 0 by the engagement of said ringwith said flange e. A cylindrical piece of cerium-iron alloy 7" istightly fitted in the cup e, with its inner end resting against thebottom of the cup, and its outer end flush with the rim thereof.

In use,the end of the piece of alloy, and

' the rim of the cup bear against the file, and,

' by the abrasive action of the file.

as the file and alloy are moved relatively, the file will abrade thealloy and produce sparks, and at the same time, the file will cut awaythe sides of the cup, so that the surface of the alloy and the rim ofthe cup will continue to beflush, and as magnesium, the metal of whichthe cup is formed, may

be cut away with a file more readily and.

easily than the alloy, it will be obvious that the metal of the holderwill not prevent engagement of the file with the alloy to a substantialextent, so as to interfere with the sparking operation, and the dullingeffect on the file will not be increased. There is, however, a somewhatincreased frictional effect overthat which would take place if the alloyextended beyond the cup walls, and the increased heat thereby caused,tends to cause a more complete ignition of the cerium-iron particleswhich are thrown ofl As more sparks are thus, likely to be produced theefliciencv of the igniter is thereby increased, as the ignition of thegas is more likely to take place, under ordinary conditions. The

particles of magnesium, which will also be thrown off by the file,ignite at a somewhat higher temperature than the cerium-iron particles,and alone, will not ignite in air by ordinary abrasion, but, as theseparticles are thrown off simultaneously with the ceriunrirori particles,they will become mixed therewith and the particles of cerium-iron, whenignited, will, in turn, ignite the particles of magnesium, therebyincreasing both the heat and luminosity of the sparks produced,magnesium burning, as it does, with a very white flame. This increasedilluminating effect is of advantage when the igniter is used in thedark, and it is, for example, desired to locate a gas jet.

The magnesium cup, by completely surrounding the alloy, holds itsecurely in place so that it is unlikely to be displaced and preventsthe latter from becoming chipped off and wasted. This arrangement,moreover, causes the alloy to be retained until it is completely filedaway, the cup being held so that its bottom is above the level of thering d, thereby permitting all of the alloy contained therein to beused. As a result, the extent to which a piece of alloy, of the sizewhich it is practicable to employ in this connection, may be used, isgreatly increased, this saving being due in part to the fact that allthe alloy is used and large particles are not chipped ofi' and wasted.The rapidity with which the alloy is cut away is also reduced orretarded by the magnesium cup which contains it, on account of theincreased surface which is filed. At the same time, the efficiency oftheigniter is increased, without increasing the amount of alloyemployed. That is, the igniting effect is substantially as great as if apiece of alloy were employed which had a diameter equal to the combineddiameter of the alloy and holder, while the luminosity of the sparksproduced will be increased, and, as magnesium is a much less expensivemetal than the alloy, a substantial saving is made in the amount ofalloy necessary to produce the desired results. It will be understoodthat the part which is renewed, and is sold as a commercial article'as arenewal is the magnesium cup having the alloy inserted therein.

I claim:-

1. A friction gas-igniter, comprising cooperating, abrading andpyrophoric elements, said pyrophoric element comprising two metalsarranged side by side in close contact, to provide a continuousabraderengaging face, and means to move the abrading element over saidface, to cause simultaneous abrasion of saidmetals, the igniting pointof the particles from one of said metals being relatively low ascompared with that of the other, and the latter having frictionalqualities, so that the heat generated from the abrasion thereof, tendsto cause ignition of the particles from the former.

2. A friction gas-igniter, comprising cooperating, abrading andpyrophoric elements, said pyrophoric element comprising a piece of themetal cerium and a piece of a metal having relatively high frictionalqualities as compared with those of the cerium, said metals beingarranged side by side in close contact, to provide a continuous,abrader-engaging face, and means to move the abrading element over saidface, to cause simultaneous abrasion of said metals.

3. A friction gas-igniter, comprising cooperating, abrading andpyrophoric elements, said pyrophoric element comprising two pieces ofmetal, one the metal cerium, and the other the metal magnesium, arrangedside by side in close contact, to provide a continuous abrader-engagingface, and means to move the abrading element over said face to causesimultaneous abrasion of said metals.

4:. A renewal device for a pyrophoric igniter, comprising a cup formedof a metal having high frictional qualities, and a piece of pyrophoricalloy closely fitted in said I cup, with its outer end flush with therim thereof, the file resisting qualities of the metal of the cup beingless than those of the alloy.

5. As an article of manufacture, a renewal device for a pyrophoricigniter, comprising a magnesium metal cup having a pyrophoric alloyinserted therein with its outer end flush with the rim of the cup.

6. An igniter having a cooperating, abrading and pyrophoric element,said pyrophoric element comprising a cup formed of magnesium metal andhaving a piece of pyrophoric alloy tightly fitted therein against thebottom thereof, and with its outer end flush with the edges of the sidewalls of the cup and means to hold the cup in position to be abradedacross its rim and the exposed end of the alloy to remove the side wallsand the alloy by abrasion, simultaneously.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

THEODORE T. POMEROY.

Witness L. H. HARRIMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe commissioner of Patents.

7 Washington, D. 0.

